preview

Associations Between Reading Aggression In Books And Aggressive

Decent Essays

Associations Between Reading Aggression in Books and Aggressive Behavior in Adolescents Critical Summary Despite the continued popularity of many book series, especially in the adolescent, or “Young Adult” genre, books have received less research attention overall than other traditional forms of media, such as TV or videogames. Controversy over the content of books has lead to numerous school districts banning books within the curriculum and libraries. The research presented in the article looks to determine whether reading physical and relational aggression within books can be associated with aggressive behavior in adolescents.
To understand the research in its entirety, it’s important to note the two types of aggression that were …show more content…

In the short term, the exposure to violence in the media may influence aggressive behavior by lowering the mood or activating aggression-related cognitive processes. Therefore, the individual is primed to behave aggressively in the short-term, and in the long-term this exposure may strengthen these aggressive cognitive processes, and therefore lead to a more aggressive personality overall. This theory would suggest that reading aggressive material would predict aggressive behavior. However, the Downward Spiral Model (Slater, Henry, Swaim, & Anderson, 2003) describes a bidirectional effect of media aggression. This implies that aggressive individuals may seek out violent media and thus reinforce and intensify such tendencies. Since so many teenagers do read, the specific goals of the research were to shine more light on whether reading aggressive material is associated with coexisting aggressive behavior in adolescents. The researchers hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation for both physical and relational aggression, and they emphasized the idea that the type of aggression may be different, giving that reading, opposed to simply viewing, requires a different level of cognitive attention. This being so, the different level may influence the development of aggression by increasing the likelihood of a long-term relationship between reading aggressive behavior in books and aggressive behavior in general. The aforementioned theories would suggest

Get Access